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Marlins staying focused amid Deadline options

MIAMI -- Sitting in striking distance in the National League East has the Marlins weighing which direction they will go before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline.

Miami entered Thursday night 5 1/2 games off the pace in the NL East, and two games under .500. It's not ideal positioning, but it still is an encouraging spot before going on the road for nine games ahead of the All-Star break.

President of baseball operations Michael Hill and general manager Dan Jennings are surveying the market for potential trade options. The Marlins don't promise to be sellers, and they could be buyers. They also may wind up staying the course, seeing how the current roster progresses in the second half.

As for the players, manager Mike Redmond said they have to be focused on playing and controlling what they can control.

"All of these guys have been around the game long enough," Redmond said. "They understand there is talk and rumors. The Trade Deadline sometimes is tough for some guys, because there are always some guys' names thrown around in trade [talk]. But those are things we can't control. Players can't control."

The front office promises to be actively looking, but is being careful on what to spend and whether to overspend.

"That's their job, to find ways, if they can, to better our ballclub," Redmond said. "Our focus is what we do on the field. It's trying every day to try to win a ballgame. We're trying to win as many ballgames as we can. The other stuff is out of our control. We'll see what happens."